60/307951 and 60/354169, filed on July 25, 2001 and February 3,2002, respectively.

Field of the Invention The invention relates generally to glide-board boot bindings, and more specifically to a rotationally adjustable adaptor for rapid rotatable adjustment of the feet relative to the centerline of the glide-board.

Background of the Invention Glide-boards are substantially planar boards upon which people propel themselves.

Glide-boards include but are not limited to scooters, skateboards, waterski boards, hydrosurf- foils and snowboards. The present invention concerns glide-boards in which the feet of the operators are bound to the glide-board with bindings or fasteners that hold the foot or feet in position on the board. One example of this type of glide-board is a snowboard.

When using a snowboard, for instance, the operator's feet are removably attached to the board during use. While it is relatively easy for the operator to glide down a slope with both feet secured to the glide-board, it is more difficult to traverse level ground, where the operator could not take advantage of gravitational forces as a means of propulsion. The need for traversing level ground routinely arises when glide-boarders seek to transport themselves to a chairlift to be taken to the top of the slope to begin their downhill ride. The position of the feet on the glide-board when traversing is different than the optimal foot position when descending a hill. Thus, to change the foot position on a snowboard, current technology requires the glide-boarder to remove boots from the board and, using a screwdriver to remove screws that hold the bindings, to reset the bindings to a different angle. This is a complicated and time-consuming process which cannot be practically done while on the slopes or between glide-boarding runs. This is a serious disadvantage in glide-boarding for the reasons discussed below.

A glide-boarder positions his or her feet at an angle on the glide-board to steer the glide- board down the slope. To accommodate the differing needs of the glide-board athlete, it is very important that the angle of the bindings be adjustable. Moreover, changing snow conditions can be a reason why one may desire to change the angle of the bindings to change the ride of the glide-board.

Furthermore, the prior art binding restricts a glide-boarders'ability to ride ski lifts to return to the top of the slopes to continue their activities. Since, the glide-board bindings, and therefore the glide-boarders feet, are set at an angle, roughly 45 degrees from perpendicular to the edge of the glide-board, it is difficult to sit in a normal position on the ski lift. It is even more difficult when two people must sit next to each other on the lift, as they typically must on the ski lift. The angle of the bindings causes the two rider's glide-boards to bump together during the ride. A glide-boarder must sit at an uncomfortable or even unsafe angle while exiting the ski lift chair. The uncomfortable angle can cause pain in both the ankle and the knees of the user, especially after a full day on the slopes. The pain can last for days after one has been glide- boarding.

Because the feet are fixed in a substantially sideways position on glide-boards, glide- boarders must remove their rear foot from the board and binding to traverse level ground and, in the case of snowboarders, for instance, to move in chair lift lines, to ride in chair lifts and to exit from chair lifts. Removing the rear foot presents a glide-boarder with several problems. First, the front foot remains at the permanent angle of the glide-board binding, causing stress, for instance, while ascending a ski slope on a lift. This can be uncomfortable because without the rear foot in place, the weight of the glide-board is hanging, at an angle, off of just the front foot.

This position places stress on the ankle and knee of the front foot. Once the glide-boarder reaches the top, they must re-bind their rear boot to the glide-board typically this involves considerable time and effort on the part of the glide-boarder because they must insure that the bindings are secure and comfortable. Finally, in order to rebind the rear foot, a glide-boarder must sit down, enduring the discomfort of the wet, cold snow and then he or she must stand up after both feet are bound to the glide-board, which can be a difficult task in itself.

Each of these activities of changing the angle of the bindings and rebinding the rear foot after using the ski lift takes valuable time since lift tickets for ski slopes are quite costly. In addition, these actions are inconvenient and require carrying a tool for removing and reattaching the bindings. Glide-boarders wish to spend as much time is possible glide-boarding as opposed to the above-mentioned activities. Thus, a need exists for bindings whose angle can be readily and easily adjusted to best match the gliding conditions, and to make maneuvering easy.

Description of the prior art A typical glide-board is essentially a single, wide ski that has fore and aft boot bindings that support both feet at a substantial angle with respect to the centerline of the glide-board. This cross-orientation of bindings allows the rider to assume a side-forward stance, which is the necessary anatomical positioning for optimal in-use control of the glide-board. This cross- orientation of the bindings allows the rider to assume a side-forward stance, which is the necessary anatomical positioning for the optimal in use control of the glide-board. While a side- forward positioning is optimal for control during gliding, it can result in problems for the glide- boarder during non-gliding periods of use, such as when the glide-boarder is maneuvering on flat terrain, for instance. Thus, it is a common practice for the glide-boarder in such circumstances to disengaged one boot, usually the aft boot, from its binding which allows the user to ride in what is termed"skate-board"style by propelling himself with his aft foot. Problems result from this positioning because the glide-boarder is thus compelled to hold the body at an unnatural and twisted position relative to the foot that is attached to the glide-board, which, besides being uncomfortable, exerts a stress and strain on the knee and ankle which can cause physical strain and even damage.

When using a snowboard generally, the bindings are attached to the snowboard with screws or similar fastening means in a fixed orientation, and a boot is removably inserted into the bindings. Most prior art snowboards have binding-holes drilled so that the front and back bindings can be attached to the board in two fixed orientations, which are changed by unscrewing the screws with a tool and manually manipulating the bindings to fit the alternative mountings, and rescrewing the bindings to the board in the alternative orientation, again using a tool.

Thus, it would be advantageous to have a means of rotating the foot during glide- boarding relative to the board axis without removing boot bindings or using a tool. Moreover, it would be advantageous for the glide-board to accommodate a variety of boot positions. Lastly, it would be advantageous to have a rotational adaptor that can accommodate most commercially available snowboard bindings without modification.

Summary of the Invention The device is a rotational binding adaptor that permits a glide-boarder such as but not limited to a snowboarder to quickly adjust his or her foot position without the use of tools, and without necessitating removal of bindings or gloves. On snowboards, for instance, when the glide-boarder has properly mounted a fore and aft adapting device of the invention to their glide- board or bindings they may then fasten themselves to their binding. If at any time the glide- boarder would want to change their foot position on the glide-board all they would have to do is disengage a simple locking mechanism, rotate their feet to the desired position, and re-engage the locator device locking mechanism. In the snowboard embodiments illustrated herein, as with other commercially available bindings and boards for other uses such as water skiing, the device may be used without modification, and is thus applicable to the products sold by a large number of glideboard manufacturers and distributors.

Thus, it is an object of the invention to provide an adaptor for use with glide-boards and particularly snowboards and waterski boards that will enable the operator to rapidly and easily change foot position without disassembling bindings or using tools.

It is yet another object of the invention to provide a device for rotating the foot positions on a glide-board in a range of positions over an approximate 360° rotational range.

Brief Description of the Drawings Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following detailed description and the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 depicts the rotation assembly of the device in the embodiment having a footpad, located between a board and a binding (binding shown in a transparent view).

Figure 2 is an exploded view of a the device of the invention having a footpad, as attached to a binding and a glideboard.

Figure 3 depicts the top half of an interchangeable rotation assembly in a second embodiment that provides interchangeability of boards and bindings, as attached to a binding (as shown in transparent view).

Figures 4a and b depict the bottom and top components of an interchangeable rotation assembly.

Detailed Description of the Preferred Embodiments While the invention is susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms, certain preferred embodiments are shown by way or example in the drawings and will herein be described in detail. It should be understood, however, that it is not intended to limit the invention to the particular forms described, but to the contrary, the invention is intended to cover all modifications and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims and description herein.

In the preferred embodiments illustrated here, the adaptor device of the invention allows glideboarders to rapidly and easily achieve a tool-less adjustability of foot orientation without removing their bindings or feet from the glideboard. In a second embodiment, the adaptor device permits interchangeability of boards and bindings without removal of the device.

It will be appreciated by those skilled in art that the plates and assemblies of the invention may be optionally manufactured with no voids at all, or with varied voids, to reduce the amount of material used and the weight of the parts. In addition, the components of the device may be manufactured from various materials including but not limited to metals of various kinds (for example and not as a limitation carbon steel, stainless steel, aluminum or titanium), plastics and polymers including ABS plastics, polycarbonates such as Lexan, stiff rubbers, reinforced structural fibers such as composites, wood, or a combination of these materials, including but not limited to carbon fiber lamina skins about an aluminum honeycombed core. Hardware such as fasteners, plungers and inserts may be obtained from commercially available stocks, and acceptable materials include but are not limited to stainless steel, aluminum, brass, zinc-coated steel and many other substances, a great variety of which are currently used with glideboards having removable bindings. One skilled in the art of fabricating glideboards will appreciate that any materials with suitable strength, flexibility and durability are acceptable for use in the instant invention.

Referring now to Figure 1, in a preferred embodiment of the adaptor 1 of the invention as used on a glideboard such as, for instance, a snowboard, the adaptor 1 is removably attached between a glideboard binding 3 and a glideboard 5. In the illustrated embodiment, the adaptor 1 comprises a rotation assembly 7, a footpad 9 having a plunger slot 11 and a locking means 13.

By way of example and not as a limitation, the invention as used with snowboards and snowboard bindings is illustrated here.

As shown in Fig. 2, the adaptor 1 is attached to glideboard 5 via adaptor fasteners 25 inserted through adaptor bores 19. Binding 3 is attached to adaptor 1 by fasteners 23 passed through binding bores 15 and/or 17. The shapes of the bores 19 and 15 may be any shape that will accommodate conventional bindings and fasteners, such as but not limited to screws. To mount adaptor 1 to glideboard 5, adaptor screws 25 are inserted into glideboard mounts 55 and secured. To mount binding 3 to adaptor 1, binding screws 23 are inserted through binding bores 15 as located on mounting plate 21, and into adaptor mounts 27 and or 17 as illustrated in Fig. 2 and described below.

The components of rotation assembly 7 as depicted in Fig. 1 are illustrated in Fig. 2, from binding 3 to board 5 orientation. The rotation assembly 7 of adaptor 1 is comprised of a series of plates and rings having varying features. These plates and rings provide the rotational function to the adaptor 1, as described below. In the embodiment illustrated in Fig. 2, a binding plate 29 is comprised of a locator hub 31 having a plurality of fastening mounts 33 located about its outer wall, and within hub 31 are located a plurality of adaptor bores 19 and adaptor screw mounts 27 into which fastening means such as adaptor screws 25 are inserted in order to fasten the adaptor 1 to glideboard 5. The fasteners that are inserted into fastening mounts 33 may be permanent fasteners such as but not limited to rivets. While the embodiment of the binding plate 29 illustrated here features a hub and spoke design for locating the bores 19 and mounts 27 within the locator hub 31, it will be appreciated that a solid plate having such openings as needed for the various bores and mounts will also suffice for use in the invention, although the open design illustrated here is lighter in weight than a solid plate would be yet still provides the necessary strength.

Directly below and in contact with locator hub 31 is a locking ring 35, also having fastening mounts 33 oriented directly below the fastening mounts 33 in binding plate 29, and further having a locking mechanism mount 37, through which a locking mechanism such as but not limited to a spring-loaded plunger 39 (commercially available) or equivalent is inserted during use. The locking ring 35 must be tall enough to accommodate the locking plate 41 (described below) within, which locking plate 41 is inserted into the void circumscribed by locking ring 35.

As illustrated in Fig. 2, below the locking ring 35 is a crenellated locking plate 41, having a plurality of openings such as but not limited to notches 43 situated about the perimeter of the locking plate 41. These notches 43 correspond to positions into which the spring-loaded plunger 39 is inserted. While notches are illustrated here, the locking plate 41 may also be equipped with substantially similarly situated bores or any other suitable spaces into which the locking means 13 may be inserted. Also located in locking plate 41 are adaptor bores 19, through which adaptor screws 25 are inserted.

Illustrated below locking plate 41 is a ring-shaped spacer 45 corresponding in outer shape to that of the locking ring 35, having fastening mounts 33 corresponding directly with the fastening mounts 33 in the locator hub 31. The spacer 45 should be of sufficient width such that the inner edge of spacer 45 extends beyond the notches 43 in locking plate 41, but does not cover the adaptor bores 19 in locking plate 41. The height of the spacer 45 may optionally be tall enough to accommodate insertion of an attachment hub 47 and bottom spacer 49, as described below.

Attachment hub 47 includes adaptor bores 19 and a center bore 17. Again, a hub and spoke design is illustrated here, but attachment hub 47 may be made of a plate with the appropriate bores within.

Lastly, bottom spacer 49 is a plate with a circumference substantially matching that of attachment hub 47, with a center bore 17 and adaptor bores 19 within.

The footpad 9 is comprised of a plunger slot 11 through which a spring loaded plunger or other locking means is operated, alignment recesses 51 and a rotation assembly opening 53, into which rotation assembly 7 is inserted. In addition, the rotation assembly opening is adapted to receive attachment hub 47 and bottom spacer 49.

To assemble the adaptor 1, rotation assembly 7 parts 29,35, 41,45, 47, and 49 are all arrayed such that the fastening mounts 33, center bores 17 and adaptor bores 19 are in substantial alignment. The aligned components of the rotation assembly 7 are then inserted into the rotation assembly opening 53 of footpad 9, such that all of the aligned the fastening mounts 33 are located within the alignment recesses 51 of footpad 9. Rotation assembly 7, when properly aligned, removably fits into alignment recesses 51, plunger slot 11 and rotation assembly opening 53. In addition, a permanent fastener is inserted center bore 17, which provides rotation stability to the rotation unit 7. Any suitable permanent fasteners such as but not limited to rivets are used to attach the components of the rotation assembly to each other through the fastening mounts 33 and center bores 17. The fasteners inserted into fastening mounts 33 and the spring- loaded plunger 39 of rotation assembly 7, when coupled with footpad 9, transfer torque from rotation assembly 7 to footpad 9 such that device 1 will functionally appear to rotate as a single unit, although locking plate 41, attachment hub 47 and bottom spacer 49 are non-rotatably attached to the glideboard 5 with adaptor screws 25. Thus, the binding 3, binding plate 29, locking ring 3 5 and spacer ring 45 are all rotatably included within the rotation assembly 7.

Next, the assembled adaptor 1 is attached to glideboard 5 by inserting adaptor screws 25 through adaptor bores 19 and into glideboard mounts 55. To attach a binding 3 to adaptor 1, binding fasteners 23 are inserted through binding bores 15 into adaptor screw mounts 27, located in binding plate 29. The plates may be fastened by any suitable method now known or hereafter developed, including but not limited to rivets, adhesives, welding and mechanical fasteners While conventional bindings as depicted here include a mounting plate 21 in which four binding bores 15 are located, the number of bores and their configurations may vary, of course, although most bindings have 4 bores as illustrated here. The fastening bores 15 must match the location and number of the adaptor mounts 27.

To use the device 1, the user simply disengages the locking means 13 and 39, rotates the binding (attached to portions of rotation assembly 7) to the desired position, then allows the locking means 13 (in the illustrated embodiment a plunger 39) to be inserted through locking mechanism mount 37 and into one of the notches 43 disposed about locking plate 43.

It will be apparent to the reader that the footpad 9 may have many different shapes, and any shape and thickness that provides sufficient strength for housing the rotation assembly (not shown) and providing leverage to the user without creating instability is suitable for use in the invention. Moreover, the reader will appreciate that this embodiment provides up to 360° of rotation.

Referring now to Figures 3 and 4, a second embodiment of the invention permits interchangeability of boards and bindings by simply separating the inner portion 61 from the outer portion 63 of the device, the outer portion 63 of which is shown as attached to a binding 3 (shown as transparent) in Figure 3. The inner portion 61 as shown in Fig. 4a comprises an outer ring 57 and an inner plate 53, the outer ring having a plurality of locator bores 69 disposed about the perimeter of the outer ring 57 in two mirror-image arrays. The outer portion 63 as shown in Fig. 4b features at least two flanged hooks 71 about its perimeter in opposite orientation, each flange hook 71 forming a receptacle 73 into which the curved sides 57 and 58 of inner portion 61 is inserted. The outer portion 63 (as illustrated in Fig. 4b) further contains at least two locking devices 65 (here shown as dowel pins with a spring-loaded detent ball), locator device openings 67, adaptor screw mounts 27, and a center bore 17.

Referring now to Figures 3 and 4, in constructing the adapter device 1 of the invention in the separable embodiment as illustrated here, outer portion 63 may be removably fastened to the binding for a boot, while inner portion 61 is removably fastened to a glide-board using any suitable means such as traditional bolts as used by those skilled in the art of glide-boarding. In the preferred embodiment illustrated herein, inner portion 61 is fastened to the glide-board by sliding bolts through adaptor screw mounts 19, which are then fastened to a glideboard as described above. In addition, a fastener is inserted into bore 17 to act as a centering pin, passing through the binding 3, inner portion 61 and outer portion 63.

The adaptor bores 19 may optionally be used to adjust the orientation of inner portion 61 in relation to the binding-hole configuration on the particular glide-board.

While portions 61 and 63 are shown here as each comprised of a single part, one skilled in the art will appreciate that they may be variously fashioned from multiple parts that are adjustably or permanently fastened using any means such as but not limited to mechanical or chemical means. The single unit parts may each be fabricated as a single unit, via a mold or precision machining or any other means now existing or developed in the future.

The two portions 61 and 63 are cooperatively interlocked such that the outer portion 63 rotates about the inner portion 61, which is removably mounted to the glide-board in a fixed position, and both the inner and outer portions 61 and 63 respectively, revolve around a removable fastener inserted into center bore 17. The center bore fastener allows the outer portion 63 to revolve around the curved edges 57 and 58 of inner portion 61, preventing the portions 61 and 63 from uncoupling while a glide-boarder's boot is bound in the binding.

Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the two assemblies may be attached to each other in a variety of ways, provided such attachment does not interfere with the rotational ability of the binding as secured to the outer portion 63. For instance, by way of example and not as a limitation, if the device is of molded plastic, the outer portion 63 and inner portion 61 must be fabricated separately so that they interlock and rotate about each other such that each locator device opening 67 is aligned with a locator bore 69. It is anticipated that all of these attachment arrangements are within the scope of the invention.

The device of the invention further includes a locking device 65 such as but not limited to a plurality of dowel pins each with a spring-loaded detent ball, as illustrated in Fig. 3. In the preferred example, the dowel pin is used to affix the device in position after rotation of the binding by inserting the pins into the indexed bores 67 and 69. The locking device 65 is inserted through locator device openings 67 within the outer portion 63, as illustrated in Fig. 3.

In a variation of this embodiment, the locking device may be mounted laterally, releasing into indentations about the outer ring 57 and flanges 71, providing up to approximately 90° of possible adjustability about the center bore 17, depending on where the indentations are located.

The device of the invention as illustrated in Figs. 3 and 4 is fastened to the glide-board using threaded fasteners, such as but not limited to commercially available M6 x l. Op fasteners of varying lengths) that pass through fastener adaptor bores 16 made through the inner portion 61. When properly installed, the inner portion 61 should be firmly secured to the glide-board by the number of fasteners specified by the glide-board manufacturers, which is currently three and more commonly four. Fastener access to properly install the inner portion 61 to the glide-board is allowed via adaptor bores 19 of inner portion 61. Fasteners are passed through access holes 19 into glide-board mounts 55. Adaptor bores 19 in inner portion 61 are large enough to permit the device of the invention to vary in its orientation in relation to its longitudinal and transverse position on the glide-board. Once the adapter device is secured to the glide-board a standard glide-board binding is fastened to the outer portion 63 by binding fasteners 23 passed through binding bores 15 into adaptor mounts 27 and/or 17. Glideboard bindings are properly attached to outer assembly 63 when the dowelled locking means 65or other locking device can be utilized without interference from the glide-board binding 3.

To use the device, the user simply disengages the locking means 65, rotates the device to the desired position, and reengages the locking device 65 by inserting, for instance, the dowel, through the locator device opening on outer portion 63 through the locator bores 69 on inner portion 61.

It should be understood that while substantially circular plates are used for the outer portion 63, the outer rim shape of this part can be any shape at all, provided that the inner edge of the part is circular, to permit rotation of the substantially circular outer edges 57 and 58 of inner portion 61.

In both embodiments, all components of the device may vary in height, but the entire device, however, should be sufficiently thin so that the distance between the snowboard and the boot will not be so great as to cause unsteadiness or loss of balance. In the preferred embodiments illustrated here, the thickness of the invention should not exceed 3 inches.

The reader will appreciate that the operation and function of this embodiment of the device is identical to the embodiment described above with two exceptions, described below.

First, unlike the first embodiment as illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2, in this embodiment the inner and outer portions 61 and 63 respectively are not permanently coupled-the two parts may be de-coupled and separated. When assembled, this embodiment of the adaptor provides the benefit of permitting the operator to rotationally adjust their binding position approx. 90° about the center bore, thus permitting the operator to separate inner portion 61 from outer portion 63 at the operator's discretion. This unique feature is significant in that this design provides the added advantage of allowing glide-board operators to interchange outer portion 63 from one device to another without the removal of the operator's bindings from outer portion 63. Thus, the invention may be used to enable the use of a single set of boots having a single outer portion 63 with a variety of glideboards, onto which an inner portion 61 is mounted. This is a great enhancement over current binding technology, which is not thusly universal. So long as the glide-board operator has inner portion 61 securely mounted to their glide-board any outer portion 63 may be successfully interchanged and used.

This feature is of specific interest to renters of glide-boarding equipment and owners of rental shops due to the fact that one binding size or style may be easily changed with another binding size or style to more quickly facilitate the personal needs of the glide-board renter while dramatically reducing the set-up time required to properly outfit a glide-board. In addition, this embodiment of the device allows the easy removal and storage of the outer assembly 63 while the bindings are still attached thus making it easier for the glide-board renter or owner to store the glide-board in any place where the obtrusiveness of the attached bindings may be a hindrance to said storage.

Second, the interchangeability of the two portions 61 and 63 also allows the glide-boarder to quickly and easily switch their stance direction from standard stance to"goofy stance,"or from"goofy stance"to standard stance. This is accomplished by swapping both outer portions 63 front-to-rear or rear-to-front, on the same glide-board.

The operator will appreciate that both embodiments, in marked contrast to conventional binding/glide-board systems, provides the useful advantages that no disassembly of the binding from the board is required, no tools are needed, and that between both embodiments, an approximately 90°-360° range in foot position is provided. Moreover, using the embodiment illustrated in Figs-3 and 4, an operator may readily use a single set of boots with multiple glideboards, providing a variety of useful advantages as described above.

Moreover, the device of the invention is independent from the binding, and may be used with most commercially available bindings without modification.

While the invention is susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms, certain preferred embodiments are shown herein and in the drawings. It should be understood, however, that it is not intended to limit the invention to the particular forms described, but to the contrary, the invention is intended to cover all modifications and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.